Participatory Churches

Abstract

This paper explores different participation methods that could be applied in redeveloping religious heritage. Due to secularisation, religious buildings are threatened with vacancy. Churches in particular are difficult to redevelop due to their ecclesiastical and social values. Active community involvement assists in overcoming the gap in designer and user interests. In this study, the St. Dominicus church is used as a case study in which a simulated participation workshop with actors is conducted. The initial goal of the simulated workshop was to determine a suitable program for a community centre inside the existing church building. Various methods were employed during the simulated workshop, structured by three participation phases identified by analysing case studies. Individual brainstorming, cognitive mapping, and a consensus design assignment were applied for research inquiry and design input. Two months after the initial workshop, the preliminary design was reviewed through individual semi-structured interviews. The individual brainstorming together with the cognitive mapping proved to be effective in determining general program possibilities, gapping the requirement of communication skills and time. After the review of the preliminary design, all participants expressed a sense of ownership of the design, thus these methods could easily be applied in other cases to boost social belonging and community values. Future research recommends a larger sample group and the mixing of age groups in the consensus design assignment, which could result in more conflicting interests regarding the community centre’s program.